Foldable beach-type umbrella



March 9, 1954 s, s os 2,671,460

FOLDABLE BEACH-TYPE UMBRELLA Filed Dec. 5, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet l I n]INVENTOR.

Sacra ie Q Tacseoa' March 9, 1954 s. s. TASEOS 2,671,460

FOLDABLE BEACH-TYPE UMBRELLA Filed Dec. 3, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. Socrates G. Taseas I. BY .-2 'w gfy 511 7 0 FY61 y PatentedMar. 9, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOLDABLE BEACH-TYPE UMBRELLASocrates G. Taseos, St. Albans, N. Y.

Application December 3, 1949, Serial No. 130,928

Claims.

My invention relates to umbrellas of large area and diameter of the typeused on beaches, and aims to provide certain improvements there- 1n.

Beach umbrellas usually have a canopy diameter of 60 inches or more, andin order to prevent a drooping effect of the canopy the rib bracespreferably are of a length equal to or slightly greater than half therib length and usually engage the ribs at or slightly outwardly of themid points thereof. Because of this requirement it has not been foundpracticable to make a beachtype umbrella foldable to a size not muchlonger than the half length of its ribs, and hence has militated againstmaking such umbrellas conveniently foldable and transportable to andfrom the beaches.

Among the objects of my invention are to provide (1) a beach-typeumbrella that can be easily and quickly collapsed and folded toapproximately one-half its rib length so as to provide a compact, smallportable parcel; (2) to provide such umbrella with but a single bracefor each rib, which brace is of a length less than onehalf the riblength; (3) to provide such umbrella with a novel rib and braceconstruction whereby the ribs will have a cantilever action for thesupport of the cover canopy from approximately the mid-point of the ribsoutwardly; (4) to provide such umbrella in which the opening thereof isfacilitated by spring action on the braces; (5) to provide such umbrellawhich will be sturdy, though of relatively simple and light weightconstruction.

The foregoing and other objects of my invention not specificallyenumerated I accomplish by the novel construction and combination ofparts, as will be better comprehended from the detailed descriptionwhich follows when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view of an umbrella embodying my invention as it wouldappear in open operative condition as seen from below the cover.

Fig. 2 is a view of the umbrella of Fig. l in compactly foldedcondition.

Fig. 3 is a substantially diametrical section through the umbrella at anintermediate stage of being folded and compacted, parts being brokenaway.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the central portion of Fig. 4, with theumbrella ribs in folded and stowed relation.

2 in open condition, showing the relationship of the staff, one rib andrib brace, the cover being omitted.

Fig. '7 is a top plan view of Fig. 6 on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of an angular connecting member which maybe used with the staff where the umbrella canopy is to be disposed at anacute angle to the ground.

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic representation of the relative portions of theribs and rib braces in the course of opening the umbrella.

Referring to the drawings, the umbrella may be said to consist of thefollowing principal elements, a staff l0, ribs II, a cover l2, a runnerl3 and rib braces [4.

As the umbrella is to be collapsible, the staff I0 is preferably made ina plurality of sections l5, l6 and I1, no one of which is substantiallyof greater length than a half length of the ribs so that the umbrella,in collapsed, folded and compacted condition, will have an overalllength no greater than the longest of the staff sections. Preferably thetopmost staff section 15 is of hollow construction and of an internaldiameter to house the sections I6 and I! in a telescoping manner. andI6, and I6 and I! are formed with diametrically disposed openings l8which are adapted to be brought into registry and held in such positionby studs l9 each having at one end an enlarged head 20, and at theopposite end a laterally disposed spring-pressed ball 2|. To insureagainst loss of the studs, for example, by one dropping into the sand, Ipreferably mount them on a flexible ball chain 22 by having said chainpass through diametrical holes formed in the heads of the studs. Toprevent the studs from becoming detached from the chain, the ends of thechain are suitably provided with enlargements 23. To provide foranchoring the staff of the umbrella, when open, in the sand, I provide astake 24, which has a reduced end (not shown) which likewise may betelescopically received and held within the lowermost staff section ITin the same manner as the staff sections l5, l6 and H are held inassembled relation.

The topmost staff section I5 is provided adjacent its outer end with aperipherally channeled ring 25 formed with radial slots 26 therein,within which the innermost ends of the ribs are pivotally mounted in aconventional manner. Held within the outer end of the staff section [5in any preferred manner is a plug 21 which car- Fig. 6 is averticalsection through the umbrella ries a spring-pressed lock plunger 28having a The adjacent ends of the sections l5.

hemispherical end 28a which is adapted to extend through an opening 29in said staff member and constitutes a means for latching the runner inposition when the rib braces have been moved to their rib-bracingposition. Enclosing the projecting portion of the plug 21 is a top cap30 which may be held in place by a screw 3|. The lower end of the staffsection I is provided with a flange 32 which acts as an abutment stopfor the runner I3 when the umbrella is in its collapsed condition.

The ribs I I are each made in two segments, namely, an upper segment 33and a lower segment 34, preferably of approximately equal length, andformed of metal rod which is adapted to flex when subjected to thetension of thecover I2 when the umbrella is in fully opened condi tion.The adjacent ends of the segments 33 and 34 are preferably reinforced,as best shownat 33a and 34a in Figs. 6, 7 and 9, to constitute rigidportions, and said rigid portions'are eachpivotally connected through arigid bracket 35 through the agency of pivot pins 35a and 35b,respectively. Preferably the brackets 35 are each of right angularchanneled form and the reinforced rigid portions 33a and 34a of the ribsegments are of rectangular cross-section to snugly pivot and seatwithin the channeled bracket 35. It will be noted that, in view of thedisposition of the channeled brackets 35and the pivotal connectionbetween them and the adjacent ends of the rib segments, the latter areadapted to lie substantially parallel to each other when the umbrella isin collapsed condition and to extend substantially in alignment'witheach other when the umbrella is in open condition, in which latterconditions the ribs may be said to have an intermediate rigid portionprovided by the rigid portions 33a, 34a and35. The end of the reinforcedportion on the rib segment 33a remote from the pivotal connection 35aprovides a shoulder or abutment 36, the function for which willpresently appear. Mounted on each of the rib segments 33 for slidablemovement thereon between the abutment shoulder 36 and'the pivotalconnection with the channeled ring 25 is a rib slider 31, and mounted onthe rib section 33 between said rib slider and the channeled ring 25 isa coil-spring 38, the function for which will presently appear. It maybe here' stated; that when the umbrella is collapsed and held inthecondition shown in Fig. 2, the springs 38'are under compression. Mountedover the free end of each of the rib segments 34 is a cap 342) having anannular recess 340 which provides a means for sewing or securing thecover I 2 to the outer end of the rib; as is conventional.

The cover I2; which maybe formed of any suitable Strong fabric materialsuch as awning cloth, is secured to the rib caps 34b and to the upperend of the staff section I5 below the top cap 30 ina conventionalmanner, and is also preferably securedto the reinforced or rigidportions of the ribsegments, as shown at 39 in Fig. 3. If desired, thecover may be further secured to the rib segments34 at a pointintermediate the ends thereof, as indicated at 40 '(Fig. 3).

The runner I3 is slidably mounted on the staff section I5 and hassecured thereto intermediate itsends-a peripherally channeled ring4I--formed with radial slots 42 within which are pivotallyconnected oneend of each of the rib braces I4 in a conventional manner. The upper endof the hemispherical end 28a of the locking-plunger 28 when the runneris moved close to the top of the staff section I5 in the course ofopening the umbrella. The portion of the runner below the channeled ring4| serves as a hand grip for operating the runner.

The rib braces I4, of which there is one for each rib as previouslymentioned, are each pivotally connected at one end in a radial slot 42in the channeled ring 4| and at its opposite end is pivotally connectedto the rib slider 31. The braces I4 are preferably formed of channeledstock, the base of the channel being cut away at the pivotal connectingends of the braces.

Operation Let it be assumed that the umbrella is in collapsed, foldedand compacted condition, as shown at Fig. 2. In said condition the staffsections' I6 and I1 are telescoped within the staff section I5 and thestake 24 and studs I9, together with the connecting chain 22, may beassumed to be conveniently accessible. To open the umbrella thetelescoping staff sections are first withdrawn, the flange 32 atthelower end of the stafi section I5 is held, the device as shown in Fig. 2is inverted and the folds of the cover or canopy fabric are shaken looseand the folded rib segments 33, 34 are moved manually from theirparallel to their extended aligned positions. As the folds are loosened,the compressedrib springs. 38 are free to expand, and in so doing. willvpush the rib' sliders 3'! down along the rib segments 33 asfar asposition A (Fig. 9), which point is predetermined by the characteristicsof the spring, and is such as will insure the action in opening theumbrella as hereinafter explained. Atthe same time the rib engagingen'dsof the rib' braces will have been moved outwardly from the staff I5 andwill also be at position A. The runner-engaging ends of the braces willremain at position B.-

With the rib segments in alignment, as one proceeds to open theumbrella; the runner I3 is pushed upwardly along the staif section I5.In the course of this movement the angle between the runner ring 4| andthe rib braces increases and the anglebetween the sliders 3I'and thespring-carrying portion of the rib segments 33 decreases as the entirerib assembly'pivots upwardly about the rib pivot points" on the channelring 25. sliders in substantially fixed relation on' the rib segments asthe latter' are being. pivoted upwardly by the rib braces until the ribbraces -eachreach a position normal to a rib segment 33, i. e., to forman angle-of at'which stage the cover resists further upward movement ofthe rib assembly. As the runner-is further moved upwardly With theapplication of additional force to the-stage where "the angle 'a'between the spring-carrying portion of therib seg' ments and the ribbraces becomes less than 90,

for example, when the runner ring 4| is at posi--- tion C and theslidersare at position A, thetension of the cover overcomes the lateral component of the upwardly applied force on the ribbraces and results inarapid downward movement of the rib brace I4 and a concomitantoutwardmovement of the sliders'along the rib segments, asindicatedby'the arrow 0, and saidslid ers come to rest against theshoulders 36 onsaid segments 33 at position D.

As the runner I3 is pushed further upwardly along thezstaff section, sayfrom the position C toE, the braces- I4 again lift the entireribassembly upwardly from position D to- F, rotating.

said: assembly about the-rib pivot points-on ring The springs 38'hold'the' rib' 5. 25. The ribs of the entire assembly at this stagebeing straight and providing, in effect, a flattened cone, any furtherupward movement will be resisted by the cover I2, consequently theentire rib assembly will start to flex inwardly.

As the runner I 3 is pushed close to its extreme upward position asindicated at G, the hemispherical end 28a of the lock plunger 28 willengage in the opening it in the runner I3 and the runner-engaging endsof the braces will be at position H. Since during this last stage of theupward movement of the straight rib assembly is resisted by the coverI2, the only alternative is for the ribs of the rib assembly to flexinto substantially arcuate form except for the intermediate rigidportions provided by the bracket 35 and the rigid portions 33a and 34aof the rib segments, as predetermined and constrained to do by the coverI2. The arrow 1 indicates the final upward movement of the sliders andthe slider-engaging ends of the braces, and the position J indicates theuppermost position of the sliders when the umbrella is in its fullyopened condition.

The stake 24 and staff sections I6 and H are then joined together bymeans of the studs I9 and said assembly is then connected to the staffsection l by a stud I9, and the staff may be firmly planted in the sand.

Where it is desired to support the canopy at an angle to the ground, anangular connecting coupling 46 such as shown in Fig. 8 may be employedfor connecting two of the staff segments.

To close and compact the umbrella, the staff sections I6, I! and stake24 are first disconnected from the stalf section I5. The spring-pressedplunger 28 is depressed, thus permitting the runner to be disengagedtherefrom and moved downwardly along the staff owing to the tension ofthe covering on the ribs and braces. The runner is then pulled downuntil its lower end comes to rest against the flange 32. The device isthen inverted to the position shown in Fig. 3 and the ribs are foldedback upon themselves, which makes it possible to put the rib springs incompression by manually moving the braces inwardly toward the staffsection. As this is being done, the brackets 35 will be brought intoclose relation to the staff and are fitted in between the walls of thebraces, which are adapted to receive them, as best shown in Figs. 3 and5. When all of the ribs are thus positioned with the brackets engagedbetween the walls of the braces, the folds of the canopy fabric aredraped or wrapped around the folded ribs and closed braces, thus holdingthe umbrella in closed, compacted condition. The staff sections I6 andI? may then be inserted into the hollow section I5 and the stake 24 andconnecting chain with its studs I9 may be wrapped up within the folds orplaced in a suitable carrying bag which may be provided for the foldedumbrella.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be appreciated that Ihave provided a folding umbrella of a character fulfilling the variousobjects of the invention as set forth in the opening statement of thespecification and, although I have shown and described but a singleembodiment of my invention it is to be understood that changes in theconstructional details thereof may be made within the range ofmechanical and engineering skill, without departing from the spirit ofthe invention as defined in the appended claims.

greater length than the staff section, connecting brackets to which theadjacent end portions of the rib segments are pivotally connected in amanner to enable the lower rib segment to pivot outwardly to liesubstantially parallel to the upper rib segment, a runner slidablymountedv on the staiT, a rib brace for each rib, said rib brace beingpivotally mounted at one end to the runner and slidably connected at itsother end to the upper rib segment and being formed with spaced apartwalls adjacent its connection with the runner and adapted to accommodatebetween said spaced walls the bracket which connects the rib segmentswhen said segments are disposed substantially parallel to each other andto the staff section.

2. A foldable beach-type umbrella comprising a staff, ribs pivotallymounted adjacent the top of the staff, each of said ribs being formed ofan inner and an outer rib segment of approximately equal length, a rigidbracket for each rib to which bracket the adjacent end portions of therib segments are pivotally connected in a manner to enable said ribsegments to lie substantially parallel to each other or in subtsantialalignment with each other, a runner slidably mounted on the staif, asingle rib brace for each rib, a brace slider mounted on eachrib, anabutment stop on each inner rib segment, each said abutment stop beingadjacent the connection between each said inner rib segment and itsbracket, each said rib brace being pivotally mounted at one end to therunner and pivotally connected at its other end to a brace slider, latchmeans for locking the runner on the staff in a position to hold thebrace sliders against the abutment stops solely by the rib braces inopening the umbrella, whereby in the course of collapsing the umbrellaby unlatching the runner latch means, all the brace sliders will be freeto move along the rib segments toward the top of the staff and therebyfacilitate moving the inner rib segments into substantially parallelrelation to the staff.

3. A foldable beach-type umbrella, comprising a staff made in sections,ribs pivotally mounted adjacent the top of the topmost staff section,each of said ribs being formed of two segments of approximately equallength, a bracket for each rib to which bracket the adjacent ends of apair of rib segments are pivotally connected in a manner to enable saidrib segments to lie substantially parallel to each other orsubstantially in alignment with each other, a runner slidably mounted onthe topmost stafi section, a single rib brace for each rib, a braceslider mounted on each ri'b segment that is pivotally mounted adjacentthe top of the staff, each of said rib braces being of less length thansaid last-mentioned rib segments and being pivotally mounted at one endto the runner and pivotally connected at its other end to a braceslider, and a coil-spring on each said last-mentioned rib segmentbetween a brace slider and the pivotal mounting of said rib segmentadjacent the top of the staff, said springs in collapsed condition ofthe umbrella being held under compression by the brace sliders.

4. A foldable umbrella according to claim 3, wherein the springs, uponrelease of the compressive force thereon expand and push the bracesliders along the rib segments to facilitate opening the umbrella.

5. A foldable beach-type umbrella comprising a staff, ribs pivotallymounted adjacent the top of the staff, each of said ribs being formed oftwo segments of approximately equal length, a rigid bracket for each ribto which bracket the adjacent end portions of the rib segments arepivotally connected in a manner to enable said rib segments to liesubstantially parallel to each other or in substantial alignment witheach other, a runner slidably mounted on the stafi, latch means forholding the runner near the top of the staff, a single rib brace foreach rib, a brace slider mounted on each rib, an abutment stop on eachrib segment that is pivotally mounted adjacent the top of the stafi,each said abutment stop being adjacent the connection between said ribsegment and its bracket, each said rib brace being pivotally mounted atone end to the runner and pivotally connected at its other end to abrace slider, a coil-spring on each of said'last mentioned rib segmentbetween its brace slider and the pivotal mounting on said rib segmentadjacent the top of the stafi, said springs in collapsed condition ofthe umbrella being held under compression by the brace sliders and beingoperative, upon release of the compressive force thereon, to expand andpush the brace sliders a; predetermined distance along said rib segmentsand hold'said rib sliders at substantially said dis- 8 tance from thepivotal mounting adjacent the top of the staff, and as the ribs arepivoted upwardly by the rib braces upon upward movement of the runner onthe staff and the rib braces pass beyond the points of normalcy with therib segments, there results, due to the tension of the cover, a rapiddownward movement of the rib braces and an outward movement of the ribsliders until the latter are stopped by engagement with the abutments onsaid rib segments and further upward movement of the runner on the staffoperates to fully open the umbrella, engagement of the latch means withthe runner serving to hold the umbrella open.

SOCRATES G. TASEOS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 752,032 Christensen Feb. 16, 1904 891,629 M-unford June 23,1908 963,003 Helgerson June 28, 1910 998,462 Burch July 18, 19111,454,404 Poell May 8, 1923 1,885,968 Wedemann Nov. 1, 1932 2,063,624Raab et a1 Dec. 8, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 699,455France Dec. 9, 1930

